Milford middle school students taught awareness, understanding of people with disabilities

After donning goggles to impair their vision, Stacy Middle School sixth-graders learned to play soccer with a beeping ball – getting a feeling of what it would be like to be blind.

By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff

Posted May. 23, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 23, 2013 at 11:03 PM

By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff

Posted May. 23, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 23, 2013 at 11:03 PM

MILFORD

» RELATED CONTENT

LINKS

FILES

» Social News

After donning goggles to impair their vision, Stacy Middle School sixth-graders learned to play soccer with a beeping ball – getting a feeling of what it would be like to be blind.

Discovering how to alter their playground games to be more inclusive of persons with disabilities was just one lesson students received on Wednesday from visiting Spaulding Rehabilitation Center physical therapists.

“It doesn’t take a whole lot of changes in behavior to make a big, big difference,” said Laura Kelly, a senior physical therapist at Spaulding in Framingham.

Kelly and several other therapists led presentations on topics like universal design and adaptive equipment used to help include or assist people with disabilities.

Students had the opportunity to try out devices that help people with disabilities perform a variety of everyday activities independently, including mechanisms to help put on clothing or write with a pen.

The Spaulding employees also tried to teach kids the proper etiquette when interacting with persons with disabilities, including simple concepts like whether or not to pet an assistance dog or help push a wheel-chair bound individual through a door.

“We do this program so that students learn how easy it is to be inclusive,” Kelly said.

She said Spaulding has been offering the program to schools in the region since 2003. She said they go to about 10 schools annually.

“These people aren’t different from them, it’s just a difference in ability,” Kelly said. “By being more inclusive in their activity, behaviors and environment, students can easily make the world more inclusive for people with disabilities.”

As part of the program, students have read Small Steps, a true story about a woman’s time recovering from polio. They will also receive a visit from someone who suffers from post-polio syndrome next month.

Lindsay Corcoran can be reached at 508-634-7582 or lcorcoran@wickedlocal.com. For Milford news throughout the day, follow her on Twitter @LacorcMDN.